ooohhhhh I fuck with HanaKimi. We will absolutely be present AND watching.
I have very low hopes of it holding up after 20 years (well, more actually, but 20 since I read it the first time), but I owe it to college student fencer who nearly failed a final exam because she binge-read this manga to watch.
An: Tortellini 🙏 writing smut will bring him home ✨ (speculations on Childe rerun 😯)
Warnings: NSFW TOPICS INVOLVED
^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•
° Unlike most Childe fucks more then makes love. 🤷 It just had to be said. He's fast, rough, and unfair. He fucks like he fights
• By unfair I mean orgasm denial. He such a bitch when it comes to that. He'll tease you until your crying and begging for him to let you cum
° It's long and in-between big and slim. Like he's not big but he still stuffs you full. If that makes sense
• He shares as long as your okay with it. Most of the time it's with Zhongli though occasionally it can be Scaramouche. Though when it's with Scaramouche they usually make a competition out of everything. Like who can make you cum the fastest, scream, eat you out/ suck you off the best ect.
° For sure he'd make you cockwarm him during a harbinger meeting they are just so boring. And plus with the way the your coats are huge and the table high no one would notice as long as you don't moan. Butttt like I said he's a tease. So good luck 😈
• Whenever he's had a good fight he'll come to you high on adrenaline and fuck you to oblivion. And he'd quite literally fuck you anywhere ✨ Golden house? Bet. In an alley in Liyue? Why not. In the own comfort of your home where he can make you scream without sorry? 🙏
° the best at giving head. Might actually be one of the best Genshin men. Like even if he's a virgin when he meets you he'd still godly at that. You have to question if he actually is a virgin
• He is usually the top but he doesn't mind you taking control. He likes seeing you bounce on him.
° ohhh and he has monster stamina it's crazy. He can go forever if you don't stop him. Like fr if you don't stop him he's going to keep going.
• He's down for anything. Any position or kink. Anything you want to try out he'll do it no hesitation as long as it doesn't hurt you.
° He literally gets turned on by you doing domestic things. Your cooking? Better turn off that stove cause he's hungry for something else. Cleaning? Get prepared for more cleaning cause he's going to make a mess outta you right now.
• He leaves marks everywhere like c'mon Tortellini... Like fr your neck and chest are covered in hickeys and bite marks. He gets a bit flustered when he sees them the next morning
chapter summary. in which Lumine makes a decision she will regret; in which Childe has everything under control.
wc. 3.4k. genre. enemies to lovers, adventure, pining, slow burn.
table of contents / next chapter (coming july 14)
Lumine’s muscles tensed as she felt the ground beneath her feet give way. She should have seen this coming, having ignored the signs placed around the area warning against trespassing. She’d never been the type to pay them much attention, nor had her target. And Paimon wasn’t around to drag her back, either—her floaty friend was left behind somewhere as she’d scaled the mountains and skidded back down them, only willing to stop for one thing.
That one thing would be her blade to the neck of the Eleventh Harbinger.
Paimon had said this whole thing was pointless, that “Mr. Moneybags” would only get them both into danger. Lumine had initially agreed, but seeing Childe, the man who had tried to kill her and wipe out all of Liyue Harbour, recklessly hunting a bounty across the nation had driven her to devote herself entirely to stopping him.
He had never resisted her, of course. Countless duels had commenced over the last few weeks, and Lumine had contributed greatly to the chaos that followed in his wake. He liked resisting her, and she liked that she got closer to defeating him every time. But it was because of Childe. It was all his fault. Him, and those damn Fatui.
Lumine had caught word of a bountied creature, some kind of rare animal belonging to a Sumeran noble. She had already understood that this was his goal. But she found it very suspicious of the deceptive (and wealthy) Snezhnayan to chase just any bounty. Surely it wasn’t just over some Mora, because that was definitely not worth falling several hundred meters into the so-called solar chariot ruins known as the Chasm. Thus, she had been keeping an eye on him. A very close, hunting eye.
He had told her about his plans himself during one of their duels, saying, “You can’t blame me for bounty hunting. You’ve done enough of that to understand the thrill of it.” And this, she could not deny. In a way, he was her own target, the unattainable bounty being satisfaction.
Lumine had never been great at saving herself from near-miss falls, but whatever ability she could muster would momentarily have to come into use. She would grab ahold of something—anything—to keep from getting herself stuck in the abandoned mines. She slid down a crumbling slate of rock, which angled her closer to the gaping black hole below. The Qixing had claimed to have sealed it off completely; how could it be that there was now a wide mouth to the dark caverns below?
Making quick use of Anemo, she managed to propel herself to the edge of the gap, scrambling up to uncertain safety. Only once she was assured the rock would hold her did she venture to peer down the hole.
“Hey, girlie! You sure you wanna go down there?”
The nauseatingly charming voice echoed dramatically from somewhere above her and she looked up.
Childe stood on some jutting rocks further up the opposite side of the cavity, waving his fingers at her from over the edge. “Hello!”
She didn’t respond, making a face she hoped he could read from his distance.
“Someday you’ll be happier to see me,” Childe said. “Come now, no need to look at me like that. Suppose I’ll catch you later, then, traveller. Careful on the way down!”
With that, he took a step and a hop over the edge, soaring confidently towards the depths of the Chasm. A flash of grey and ginger later, and he had disappeared into the darkness. Lumine crawled to the overhang’s edge, gazing down into it again.
She had no defensive logic for the decision she was about to make, and yet… she had to. He was dragging her down with him without even touching her. She had to follow him, no matter what.
—
The first thing Lumine noticed upon landing was an ache in her legs. Her glider had served her well for most of it—but the amount of time it took her eyes to adjust to the low light level still had her legs nervously tensing for most of the descent.
It smelled of dank cave, metal, and some bitter scent she couldn’t place. She immediately took to a rock that was just the right size for leaning on, and regained her wits as she looked around. There was no exit; that was clear. The cavern appeared to be fairly large, narrowing towards the stone ceiling from which she fell, assuring no simple clambering out. She’d find a way out eventually, as she always did, but escape seemed to be quite out of reach for now.
Damn. If only she could contact Venti to fly her out. But then, even if she could, the last time she had seen him he was too intoxicated to fly straight. It wouldn’t serve either of them well. Also, as lovely as Venti was as a friend, he was one of the last people she’d like to be stuck underground with. Childe was further down that list, of course.
Around herself, she could make out the shapes of different rocks and minerals, dismally glowing cave-dwelling blossoms, and in the distance, the faint silhouettes of abandoned mining equipment.
And no Paimon. Paimon would have no idea where she was.
Lumine had no chance to grieve this lack of communication, because she heard footsteps and disfigured yelling just a moment later.
“Who’s there? Name yourself!”
She said nothing, hopping over the rock and gliding further down into the cavern. Unfortunately, she noticed the Fatui camp’s fire all-too-close to where she landed.
“There’s an intruder!” The distorted voice of a Pyroslinger broke out and she groaned internally. Not even a minute to catch her breath? Really?
Lumine’s attacks came naturally, blowing down the Fatui’s elemental shields and stunning them with Anemo vortexes. Finally reaching the last enemy, the Pyroslinger Bracer, she took slow steps towards the corner she’d blasted him into. She always soaked up the last moments of her victory for what they could offer: the Pyroslinger’s arms raised to protect himself, muttering curses just loud enough for her to enjoy, and the inevitability of his defeat. Her movements halted, suddenly, though it was neither her doing nor the Fatui skirmisher’s. Her vision was dimming, and she looked around herself to see strange dark mud covering the ground. Her nose was overwhelmed by the bitter smell now, and her legs were leaden.
Three shots from the recovering Pyroslinger now struck her chest, knocking her off her balance. She collapsed to the ground with hands cushioning her fall in the egregious mud. She looked up as the Pyroslinger repositioned his gun to aim again. She couldn’t pull her hands out of the mud fast enough to reach for her sword, which had fallen to her left.
“Stand down, comrade” A tenor voice said from somewhere behind.
The Fatui skirmisher looked up from her and cocked his head. “Who gives you the authority?”
A second later, two arrows had struck each of the skirmisher’s shoulders, just hanging onto the top of the fur, and a third zipped directly into the feather on his hat, knocking it clean off.
“Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, grants me absolute authority.” Childe stepped into Lumine’s view, giving a cold smile to the skirmisher. “Can’t recognize one of the Eleven Harbingers, comrade?” A dim flash bloomed above his gloved palm in a shapeless lantern of elemental energy, casting an eerie blue glow on his visage.
The skirmisher stood straight, giving an awkward salute. “Forgive me, sir.”
“You’re off the hook, but don’t go aiming your gun at me again,” he chided. “Her Majesty will hear about it.”
“No, sir. But—” he gestured to Lumine “—she took down my whole squad.”
Childe peered into the shadows, noting the unconscious or incapacitated forms of said squad. “I see.” His dim elemental lantern extinguished and he offered Lumine his hand, which she greeted with nothing but an offended stare. “Good work, girlie. You know, you really don’t have to attack ‘em unprovoked, hey?”
“Oh, you’re one to talk,” she spat, getting to her feet without his assistance and dusting herself off. This mud would surely leave quite the stain.
“Don’t I get a ‘thank you’?”
“I had that under control.”
“I’d beg to differ,” he said, leaning over to her to wipe a bit of muck out of her hair. She froze, at first, and then stepped away from him, slapping his hand away. Fetching her sword from the mud, Lumine nearly stormed off.
But then she realized, with much consternation, that she had nowhere to walk away to. Her goal had been to stop him. She wasn’t quite sure how to go about it.
By now he should have prompted a duel, as had happened each time before. She’d interrupted him chatting with (interrogating) innocent civilians in Qingce Village, prevented his discovery of Albedo’s camp, and taken clues for herself. Rumours were everywhere, of course—and yet they had both been acquainted with similar directions to the earthquake zone which had dropped them here. The targeted creature was last spotted and chased away by guards of the Chasm. The guards were the reckoned finish line of their race for intel. But the guards were at the Surface, and they were down here.
Childe grimaced at her movement. His eyes didn’t leave her.
Lumine cleared her throat. “You didn’t, by chance… end up talking to the…”
“The guards? Nah, I didn’t make it that far. You thought I might have come back for you, girlie?” He sniggered.
Lumine stared at him blankly. She wanted to ask him, what now? But she also didn’t want to be confronted about her decision to come down here in the first place.
He turned to the Pyroslinger. “When’s your relay over?”
“Twenty-seven days.”
“Rations?”
“We’re fine. There’s water sources down here, and mushrooms we can roast in the worst case.”
“Good. Carry on, comrade.” He eyed a Fatuus in the shadows, who was groaning in pain. “And… try to take care of your squad, will ya?”
“Acknowledged.”
Lumine almost felt guilt for causing this group all the trouble. But then she remembered. They were Fatui.
And so was Childe. She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword and glared at him. He turned to her with an amiable smile, ignoring her stance.
“Now, then, traveller, whaddya say we explore a little?”
Lumine tightened her hand’s grip on the hilt. “For what?”
“Well, for fun, of course.”
She gave him a hard look. “Okay,” she said slowly, relaxing her hand, “let’s explore. For fun.”
—
Oh, it was excruciating walking alongside her enemy like this. Lumine hated how he walked a little bit ahead, how he pointed out directions they should go, how he made small talk. How he attempted banter and she fell into the trap of responding. How he never hesitated at a single turn, offering light from his vision in case she found the dark to be too much (which she declined, affronted by the preposition that she was afraid of darkness).
“It seems to narrow into a smaller cave, here,” Childe was saying, “why don’t we—”
“You should let me walk ahead,” she interrupted.
He cocked his head at her, Fatui mask in his hair shifting with the movement. “Why? You want to protect me?”
“No, idiot. I don’t trust you.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust his intuition—it was sharp, she could admit—but that she hated being out of control. She was used to the “why don’t we—”s from Paimon, but rather than observant reminders as it was with her pixie companion, it sounded like suspicious schemes. Anything he said sounded like a part of a ploy, a puzzle to unravel. Some kind of evil mission, probably. It always would be with him.
He tch’d, but gestured for her to walk ahead. “You have so little faith in me.”
“I wonder why, Childe,” she spat his codename. “I wonder why.”
With a pause, he sent Lumine a more serious look. He spoke carefully. “I think it would help,” he said, “if you took the time to hear me out a little, girlie.”
Lumine studied his expression. It wasn’t often she got to see his expression reveal anything more than military, wiley, or bloodthirsty. The corners of his lips were nudged back, his brows were slightly gathered, and his eyes were direct. And his Fatui mask was as red as ever.
“I respectfully disagree,” she said, taking the lead ahead. “No amount of explaining can justify your actions. And don’t call me that.”
“I’m not trying to challenge your morals, traveller.”
She threw her arms out. “Then stop acting like you want me to fancy your ass.”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“Then what is it about, Childe?”
He hesitated again, boasting an irked expression. “I don’t need a babysitter, but you’ve been following me for weeks. Why?”
“You have the codename ‘Childe’ for a reason, don’t you?”
He went silent. Lumine looked over her shoulder to see his brows lowering.
“Giving up on your own case already?”
His gaze set into hers. “Do you hear that?”
Lumine listened, and then latched her eyes onto an ominous shape in the darkness. There was a soft, rattling snarl, which she recognized as that of a Geovishap only a second before it was too late. She leapt before Childe, raising her sword just in time to deflect the pounce of the dragonish Creature. Its claws scraped against the stone floor as it fell back, gearing up to leap again. Childe dashed past her and the Geovishap, and aimed a shot right at the nape of its neck, causing it to freeze milliseconds before lunging. It twitched, falling to its curved back.
For a second, Lumine thought he’d slain the Geovishap in a single shot, but it then began to twitch, spin, roll, towards Childe this time. He dove out of the way, narrowly escaping one hit which only seemed to aggravate the Geovishap more, landing directly in front of him with its claws out. Lumine always thought of Childe as rather tall and altitudinally advantaged, but when standing before an adult Geovishap he looked so small. Fleeting fear overtook her mind and she took a steady blade to its skull from a leap behind.
Childe stepped back as it crumpled in his direction, Hydro blades dissolving into elemental energy as he gave her a look. “I had that under control.”
A proud smile spread across Lumine’s lips. “Ha. I’d beg to differ,” she said, planting one foot on the creature’s back, almost too high to reach, and driving her sword heavily into its back through scales.
His gaze shifted between the hilt of her sword, her overstretched leg, and her expression. A grin bloomed gradually, blessedly, on his own face and he laughed jovially. “Alright, then. You can lead the way.”
Lumine cleared her throat and withdrew her blade, swinging it inattentively before sheathing it. She forced her smile down. “Yes. Good. I will.”
He took to walking behind her, and she hated that more, because she could not see him. After a few minutes, she commanded, “Walk beside me.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Shut the hell up.”
He took to her right side with an expression like a satisfied fourteen-year old who just won a match of cards. “We should find somewhere to set up camp pretty soon, no?”
Lumine huffed. She did not want to set up camp with No. 11 of the Fatui Harbingers.
“Unless you want to go back and find my subordinates. I’m not sure how pleased they would be to host you after your unprompted attack, but I am great at convincing.”
“You’re not always so great at convincing,” she said, still unable to admit he had a point. She had no way to tell the time but she knew it had been late afternoon upon their descent, and they had been walking for several hours. Her legs were in need of rest.
“I’d like to think sometimes it takes longer than other times but the job gets done.”
“You’d like to think a lot of things.” The tunnel around them was widening rapidly as they walked. “I’d like to think this is our way out, but how likely is that?”
He pointed ahead. “There’s actually a bit of a semi-cave there, under that overhang, you see? You wanna set up there?”
She squinted into the darkness. “You’re joshing. There’s nothing to see.”
“Come on.” They walked in the direction he had gestured towards, and there was indeed a semi-cave, three walls but a big enough opening on the fourth side that there was no chance of getting trapped. “Is this to your liking, girlie?” he asked, like they were touring a couple’s apartment.
“Could be worse,” she conceded, and dropped her bag against the wall. “Now, by setting up camp, what is it you’re actually referring to?” Lumine crossed her arms, eyeing him. “Fire, food, shelter, and comfort? Or do you just conk out for a few hours on the ground?”
“Do you think I’m a savage?” he asked with a laugh. “I carry a leather blanket in my bag. I can make a fire with wet wood. I know how to turn a snowy tree into a cozy shelter. Hm… But we haven’t got any kindling, so shall we find some cave grass?”
Lumine, slightly insulted that he supposed her straightforward method of setting up camp to be savage, sauntered towards the greater opening of the cave and surveyed the area. There was still a strangely sufficient amount of light, though perhaps not enough for her to pick up on details such as potential grass locales. She squinted, trying to decide quite how far away the other side of the cave really was.
“Let’s walk this way.” Childe waved her over, providing his blue glow with elemental energy. She wished she knew how to do that. But she didn’t dare ask, knowing that sharing any trade secrets with a Fatuus would be both humiliating and disgusting.
“Childe,” she said, instead, and then hesitated. The forthcoming inquiry was terrible, but had to be inquired nonetheless.
“Yeah?”
“What are we gonna… or rather, what are you doing down here, and…”
He met her eyes without a tinge of sass. “You’re really asking your sworn enemy to reveal his plan to you?”
“Uh…” Lumine sucked air through her teeth. This was atrociously painful. “What’s the plan?”
Childe’s face broke into a wide grin and he howled. “You are so cute.”
“Answer the damn question, Harbinger.”
He chuckled some more. “Alright, since you asked so nicely. I already have enough leads that I know the bounty’s down here.” He shrugged matter-of-factly. “Shouldn’t take longer than a few days to reach it.”
Lumine narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you… know the Chasm well?”
He clicked his tongue. “Not particularly, but I don’t get lost.”
“You don’t get lost? Not even in massive, cursed cave systems?”
“Nope!”
“Do you have much experience underground?”
“Oh…” he said. “Yes, a bit.”
For a fraction of a second his smile flickered, and this Lumine noticed with suspicion. However, she decided not to push it, keeping a watchful eye on him as they descended deeper into the cavern.
Wherever they were going, Lumine would have to stay on her guard for the deception that the Fatui Harbinger inevitably had in store for her. She knew how to survive, but she did not know the Chasm. She had not even seen a map of it before, and only had a trifle of knowledge about what had happened here. She was aware that it was related to the cataclysm 500 years ago, but its role was a mystery to her and the reason for its hushed nature in Liyue was just as mysterious. It was unclear whether Childe knew the Chasm, but he was of this world and was therefore at an advantage.
That, and he was the one who had some kind of true motive for being down here.
And Lumine’s only motive was to prevent him from accomplishing it.
author's note. please reblog if you enjoyed. thanks so much for reading! i'm so excited about this series man i poured my soul into it
— table of contents / next chapter (coming july 14)
Genre: arranged marriage, angst to comfort. Set in an alternate universe
Notes: Second post, lets go (ᵔ◡ᵔ) I've been on a roll, and I've been motivated to write a lot for some reason. Let me know what you think by sending something to my inbox!
No song to recommend except speak now (Taylor's version) because that's all I played while writing this (though I do recommend Castles Crumbling)
I recently started writing again; click here to learn more about me ^-^
Being married to a successful businessman such as Tartaglia would be a dream for others, but it felt like a nightmare for you.
You’d spent little to no time with one another, always passing by each other when the both of you would leave for work. In the same house that never felt like home.
He was dismissive of this whole ordeal; he clearly disliked the thought of an arranged marriage, but you weren’t sure if it was the idea of it or the fact that it was you who he got married to.
Were you unattractive in his eyes? Is he detested to be with someone like you? Sure he may have had a long line of women waiting for him, but you considered yourself to be at least presentable.
Now you spend your days alone, despite having everything at your grasp.
Did you really have everything, when you had a husband who refused to acknowledge you?
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗
You got home one day, tired and sleepless. You had to finish up a huge deal with a potential client and you were exhausted by the time you arrived home. Seeing that Tartaglia wasn’t home, you plopped on the couch and drifted off to sleep, letting your body rest after a tiring day.
An hour later, Childe comes home to see you peacefully sleeping.
He wastes no time and grabs a blanket to drape over you.
You wake up hours later, confused with the blanket on your body.
“You should sleep some more, it’s still the evening.” Tartaglia calmly says as he goes back to his room.
You slept again, confused and wondering if he felt obligated to do that or if he genuinely cared.
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗
The morning you woke up, he was the same dismissive Tartaglia that you knew. He never acknowledged what happened last night, and just went on with his routine before leaving the house.
It ate you up inside how you couldn’t understand him. Does he hate you? Is he staying for the sake of the company?And it hits you; He feels obligated to do all of this because it really is for the company.
That hurts to think about. But how can you complain when it’s as plain and simple as that?
You can’t ask for more, you’re just a marriage on paper.
Everyone just needs to believe you’re in love, you don’t actually have to be.
So why do you feel you yearn for someone so close yet so far away from you?
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗
Those thoughts crept up more and more as the weeks went by. It was clearly affecting your performance; you kept missing meetings because of how nauseated you were knowing Tartaglia was going to be in the same room as you.
You made your time out at work earlier so you don’t have to see him at the house, and made your wake-up routine earlier than his so when he wakes up you’re already out the door.
All of that just to avoid him, to avoid seeing him, and realize you were falling deeper and deeper into something you shouldn’t have.
But all of that effort was thrown off the window when both of your families set up a dinner party, forcing you and Tartaglia to be at arm’s length.
“Same as before.” Was all he said before leaving the car to enter the estate.
You know the protocols the both of you set up to make it convincing for everyone; his hands on your waist and a bright smile with champagne on the other hand.
It hurt to smile like you were his when you know you weren’t.
“So how have the both of you been?” A guest asked.
“Same old, same old. Me and Tartaglia have been busy lately. I'm just glad we have time to ourselves when we go home at the end of the day.” You reply, hugging him with your arm as you leaned in close to him.
“I’m surprised you still use Tartaglia, don’t you feel comfortable calling him Childe?” Your eyes perk up at that comment.
Shit.
“Force of habit, apologies.” You pass it off as a joke.
The night passes and you decide to stroll in the garden at the back of the estate, alone. Acting like you really were lovers took a toll on you tonight, most especially with these new-found feelings of yours that were getting harder and harder not to ignore.
As you sit on a bench, looking up at the stars, you think.
Is he getting tired of this? He’ll probably ignore me again when we go back home. I just hope no one asks us any more questions, I don’t think I can handle it.
The thoughts were overwhelming. Before you know it, little droplets of rain start to fall on you rapidly. When you stood up, you were already drenched in the very strong rain. Instead of running back to the estate, you sat back, letting the rain pour onto you as you decided to cry it all out.
Pathetic as it may be, it was helping you let out your feelings. You cried, sobbed, and didn’t care if people saw you. Either way, they wouldn’t know that you were crying because of how strong the rain was.
What you didn’t know was Childe was looking everywhere for you, out of concern because of the rain. When he saw your silhouette in the gardens, he wasted no time running up to you.
“Hey-” He called out your name as he ran. “Tartaglia?” You brushed off the tears rain from your face and looked up at him. “What are you doing here? It’s raining so hard!” He screamed so you could hear him through the pouring rain.
You couldn’t answer right away. “Sorry.” Was all you could think of saying as he grabbed your hand to make you stand up. “You could’ve gotten sick! You don’t like getting sick, right?”
It was true. While it would be natural for someone to hate being sick, you hated it on another level. When you would call in sick for work, you’d still have your laptop ready on your bed as you experienced a fever.
“H-how’d you know that?” You ask. “I know all kinds of stuff about you! How you hate people being late, how you like your coffee hot, how you would arrange the spices at home in alphabetical order for some reason.” He laughed, still talking loudly through the rain.
He looked beautiful. Despite the rain on his face, despite his look of concern for you, he was majestic.
“Wait, were you crying?” He asked. His hand instinctively held your cheek.
“I-I wasn’t.” You lie. “Your eyes are red.” “That’s because of the rain-” You try to excuse yourself.
“Like hell it is.”
He quickly wrapped his arms around you.
“Are you okay? Did something upset you tonight? Is that why you’re here in the rain?” He quickly asked those questions and you couldn’t help but let the tears fall as you stayed in his arms. “I’m sorry I’m usually more put together, I…” You couldn’t say the words.
Maybe, for now, this short-lived affection was enough for you.
“You can tell me anything, you know that right? I’m your husband after all.” Those words caused an incredible amount of pain to you for some reason.
You breathed deeply before asking,
“Am I your wife, then?”
He looks at you, confused. “Of course you are. I know I don’t really show it, but I care for you. A lot. Contract or not, I still want to be married to you.”
One sentence was enough for all of your worries and fears to go away.
“You don't know how much those words mean to me.” I sigh and hug him tightly.
He smiles fondly and accepts the hug as the rain poured down on the both of you.
“I’m sorry. It seems like I had something to do with your current state.” He says, still holding you.
“I thought you hated me… hated this.” You finally admit.
“I could never hate this. The only thing I hated about this whole thing was how I never got to fall in love with you the right way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You-- gods you’re beautiful, you know that? And I was mesmerized by you when I would see you at gatherings. When I got the news we had to get married, I should’ve been happy. But I wasn’t. You didn’t have the chance to love me for who I was and instead, you were dragged into this contract. So I… I made sure to be distant. For your sake.” He says, clearly feeling guilty and upset about how he handled the situation.
“Clearly, that isn’t working. And I’m sorry. I thought you liked this arrangement…” His voice starts shaking. “I’m sorry too. For making it such a big deal-” “It is a big deal. No man should treat their wife this way and I learned my lesson for trying it myself. I won’t make this mistake again. Not when I finally know you feel the same for me.”
You had enough power within you to look at him in his eyes.
His mouth was trembling.
You put your arm on his cheek and smile.
“Can I finally kiss you?” You ask.
“I’ve been dying to do that.” He replies.
The two of you lean on one another, lips touching with a bright smile. Despite the ongoing rain, you savored that moment. The moment when everything clicked.
The moment when you knew you were meant to be with him.
When you pull away, the both of you smile, still holding one another. “We should probably get back now.” He laughs. “We probably should.”
He holds your hand as the both of you walk back to the estate, drenched from the rain but happy and content.
END.
Notes: this trope has a chokehold on me and I swear I won't stop loving it ♡( ◡‿◡ ) This one is a bit longer than my first post, that's because I really wanted to flesh out the story properly with the right amount of angst and comfort. Hope I provided that!
Inbox is always open for suggestions and comments.
How do you end a bitter academic rivalry between two students? Spoiler alert, it’s not a kiss!
modern au! class academic rival alhaitham x gn!reader, alhaitham and reader being a MENACE to each other, kaveh mention, fluff, eventual romance at the end
word count: 1.5k <3
i had a lot of fun doing this because i had very similar experiences in the past, unfortunately they weren’t alhaitham 💔. hope you enjoy this one! <3
You have got to be kidding me.
You looked at the test paper handed to you by the teacher after she uttered a small congratulations at you for getting an almost perfect score on her exam. Almost perfect, if it weren’t for a simple question that you didn’t read properly, and you had to pay the price.
“Congratulations! You outdo yourself every time, your efforts as a student are always appreciated. Not bad for second highest!” The teacher gave you her brightest smile, while your face visibly twitched at her mention of ‘second highest’.
What do you mean I’m only the second in the class? I studied myself to the brim for this exam! It took everything in you not to let out an exasperated face in front of the teacher, but you were successful not to do so.
“Thank you for the kind words, Professor. So, who’s the highest?” You raised your eyebrow. She pointed to the gray-haired man who slept in his desk peacefully with no care in the world. You thanked your teacher again before you walked over to him and grabbed the test paper in his hands, to which he was immediately woken up.
“You have got to be kidding me!” You exclaimed.
Alhaitham opened his eyes in frustration and grabbed his test paper in your hand. “Please shut up. People are trying to sleep, unless your pea-sized brain cannot hand—“
“Oh, you shut up! How did you even get a perfect score? This is irritating.” You rolled your eyes.
“I’m simply smarter than you.” He smirked, which made you glare at him.
“We both know that it was only luck that you got a perfect score, Alhaitham.”
“Please? I don’t believe in trivial things such as luck, especially when it comes to this.” He tried to close his eyes again to sleep, but was unsuccessful as he realized you weren’t still done with your one-sided argument with him. You two were cut off by the teacher’s voice.
“Alright, now that all the test papers are now handed to you, we must begin with a new lesson! But per usual, we need to start with an activity! This one will be by pair.”
The teacher locked eyes with you and Alhaitham, you understood what she meant and immediately shook your head in defiance. Alhaitham, on the other hand, groaned as a way of telling that, I’m not gonna put up with this crazy thing.
“You two need to get along! Look, I’ll pair you together and I expect that by the end of this activity, the both of you will be friends!”
You heard Alhaitham chuckle at what the teacher had just said, and you had no choice but to just nod at her instructions. You slowly ducked your head in your arms in helplessness.
“Don’t be so dramatic. What’s the worst that could happen?” Alhaitham rolled his eyes.
…
“Oh my archons, Alhaitham, why can’t you do it right?” You uttered with frustration coating every word.
“I am doing it right. I’m just doing it my way,” He replied. “The correct way.” He added, glaring daggers at you, but you weren’t in any way affected. It irritated him.
“No! My way is the right way.”
It’s been two hours. It has been two full hours at Alhaitham’s house and you two haven’t started the work yet because of a small disagreement on whose way is the correct way.
After the teacher explained the instructions, the class began to talk to their pair and started to work on the activity quietly. You and Alhaitham, however, had many a lot of differences.
“So.. if we don’t finish this right now, we should do it at your place?” You asked.
Alhaitham side-eyed you. “And why not your house?”
“Well, my mom is there and I wouldn’t want her to think I’m bringing in a guy—“
“As if you can get yourself a partner.”
“This is why Kaveh is your only friend. You are insufferable!”
“Okay, we’ll do it at my place. I don’t want your mother to think I’m your boyfriend. Just the thought makes me shudder.” He let out a disgusted face.
“And you’re the one calling me dramatic, but okay. After school?” You confirmed and he just nodded. Before you can even open your mouth to elaborate your plan, he shushed you, put on his headphones and closed his eyes.
You were left dumbfounded.
After the bell rang, signaling that classes have ended this day, you stood up in your seat and fixed your things, not noticing Alhaitham towering over you like a skyscraper. You only saw him when his shadow casted over you.
“What do you need?” You looked at him.
“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten?” He sighed and walked to the direction of the exit. He looked back at you and waited for you to follow him. You quickly took your bag and went along.
“So… H—“
“You know how I hate small talk, please refrain from doing so.” He cut you off. You glared at him and rolled your eyes, to which he let out a sly smirk in return.
“I wasn’t even finished yet..” You mumbled in irritation.
That is how it got up to this point. Whenever you tried to say anything, Alhaitham would cut you off because he knew how much you hated that. When he would talk, you would raise your voice to not hear him because you knew how much he hated that. Until none of you are speaking anymore, just crossed arms, having a staring contest.
“This is childish.” He said.
You replied, “You should say that to yourself.” While you munched on a pack of strawberries you found in his refrigerator.
“Where did you get that?” He raised his eyebrows.
“In your refrigerator, duh.”
“Those are mine, whatever.”
After some time, you two finally worked in unison and peace. Only the keyboard clicking and pen writing were being heard in Alhaitham’s study area. While you wondered just how rich he is to have his own room specifically just for studying. You looked at the green-eyed man, typing his hands away. Well, you would be lying if you said he wasn’t good-looking. His attractive frame isn’t doing you any good, either.
“I can feel your eyes on me. What do you want?”
It made you internally panic as you realized you stared at Alhaitham for so long that he noticed it. “N—Nothing! More strawberries?” You smiled sweetly. His annoyed eyes bored into yours, but he stood up and got you more strawberries.
“I’m done with my part. I’ll be reading on the couch.” He sighed and walked towards the living room.
“Oh, I’m not done with mine yet.” You replied.
“Maybe if you stop being so distracted by me, you would’ve finished it by now.”
You accidentally choked on a strawberry you ate while he said that. Your face quickly became red as the food that’s in your hands.
“Shut up!”
“You aren’t denying. So is it true, then?” He put his two hands on the table, parallel to you. You were absolutely shocked at his new personality, never in a million years would you hear and see Alhaitham flirt, especially with you.
“What do you mean, you’re being stupid right now.” You chuckled nervously.
“Don’t be so oblivious. I know you’re attracted to me, and you’re not very good at hiding it either.” He looked at you and saw your surprised face.
“No, I don’t.” You disagreed, your face flustered. What if I do like Alhaitham? But I just don’t know it? You panicked.
“Don’t tell me I figured it out before you did? I thought you were smart. I mean, you said I only got the highest mark because of luck, right?” He continued to poke you.
“What if I do like you, what are you gonna do?” You said without thinking, you regretted it when you saw Alhaitham just looking at you. What are you trying to prove?
Suddenly, Alhaitham walked to your side.
“Hey! You’re not answering my question—“
He drew near you and closed off the space in an eye-widening kiss, which made you put your hands on his neck, for support. Alhaitham continued to put his soft lips on yours, tasting the strawberries on your lips, which made him crazy.
He softly caressed your cheeks in the process. When you let go of him to take a deep breath, you turned your head to the side, unable to face him.
“That’s what I would do.” He replied nonchalantly.
For the second time this day, you were left dumbfounded. You raised your hands as if you were to gesture something at him, but didn’t have the strength to do so, he looked at you with confusion.
…
“Thank you for the excellent work, my top students. I see to it that you two have become friends?” The teacher smiled.
You stood in front of the teacher’s desk alongside Alhaitham, before you could utter a reply to the teacher, you were preceded by your gray-haired boyfriend.
“Uhuh, friends.” Alhaitham had a sly grin on his face.
this one’s shorter than my kaeya one but i did enjoy writing it more! what do you want to see next? happy reading <3
Childe has been trying to tell you something. But the end of the day is approaching, and he hasn't managed to get it out to you yet.
Childe x gn!reader. Slight angst with hopeful ending. This takes place one day after his story quest.
Word count: 3.1k
c/w: none
note: Sending much love to @iridescene for inspiring this fic and also to @monocaelia for giving me her childe kisser approval for this fic. <3 <3
Dusk, Twilight, Dawn masterlist
--
DUSK calls for the slumber of the sun and the coming rise of the dark sky. Childe has something to tell you before he leaves Liyue tomorrow morning. But such a seemingly simple task has stumped the Eleventh Harbinger for the day thus far.
Childe chalks it up to your anger, but he never thought it would drive him into corners.
He had written a letter to your home days ago, asking you to meet up so that he could make it up to you. He contemplated visiting, but he wasn’t sure if it would infuriate you to see him. You didn’t reply to his letter, so he wasn’t even sure if you would turn up.
Regardless, Childe had already made the reservation at Xinyue Kiosk. He was going to wait for you there. If you wanted to humiliate him by standing him up, he would simply accept it.
It wasn’t to say that he didn’t care whether or not you showed up though. As the time neared, his eyes darted between the crowd and the clock he could see through the glass of the restaurant doors. He didn’t realise he was holding his breath until he spotted you walking towards the restaurant.
The tension left his body when he saw you, and he waved to you. However, you didn’t return a greeting with such enthusiasm, only giving him an emotionless side eye when you came to his side. That was all it took for his shoulders to stiffen up again.
At the dining table, the air remained tense; the atmosphere chilling. Throughout the meal, the only sounds present were that of your bowl whenever it was placed on the table and the occasional clink of your chopsticks on your ceramic bowl.
Whenever he tried to get your attention by clearing his throat, you kept your eyes on your food. If he called your name, you would pretend that something in the dish had caught your eye.
The only thing that provided him solace was seeing that you still ordered and enjoyed your favourite dishes. You’re a Liyuean and you don’t live far from here, but you don’t often come due to its long wait times and the high prices.
Temporarily, Childe resigned to his defeat. He would catch you before you left the restaurant. So, when you stood up, Childe tried to grab your hand. But he stopped short when you talked to him for the first time today.
“I want to stop by Wangsheng Funeral Parlour.”
At your sudden words, Childe only managed to nod. The walk there was silent, staring at the back of your head as he wondered about the purpose of your visit. However, as he walked on, a thought came to hold an immense weight in his mind.
You were trying to embarrass him.
You knew he had tried to obtain the Geo Gnosis for the Tsaritsa, only to be played as a piece in Morax’s game. Now, you’re bringing him straight back to the said Archon.
No, maybe he was reading too much into this. You were angry, but Childe knew you as someone who would not do something backhanded. More importantly, he had to find a way to get you to willingly listen to him. No matter his pride. He tried to shove the thought to the back of his mind and pressed on.
Though, Childe made sure to keep his distance. While Traveller’s presence was a surprise, he largely wanted to avoid Zhongli. He leaned on the wall adjacent to the entrance and watched you walk into the parlour with Zhongli and Traveller.
A while later, Zhongli walked out of the parlour. He strode over to Childe with his hands behind him. He quipped, “I thought you would have left Liyue Harbour by now, Master Childe.”
Childe crossed his arms and scoffs, “I’m leaving tomorrow at daybreak.”
Zhongli chuckles, finding it amusing that Childe was still upset with him. He glanced back at the parlour and looked back at Childe, who was staring off into the distance.
“A mora for your thoughts? I assume it’s likely about [name].”
Childe sighed, “They’re angry- no, infuriated- at me for what I was attempting to do to Liyue. Of course, anyone would, but… Archons,” He pauses, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ve been trying to tell them something, but it’s not getting through.”
Zhongli only hummed.
Childe mumbles, “What am I doing? Talking to an Archon whose nation I tried to destroy about my personal affairs…”
“Well, I hope you two get to talk it out. It’d be quite a pity otherwise.”
Childe raised his eyebrows at Zhongli. Before Childe could question Zhongli, you emerged from the parlour with Traveller. After the Traveller took his leave and Zhongli headed back into the parlour, a stifling silence weighed down on the both of you again.
Taking a deep breath, Childe steeled his resolve to break this thick wall between the two of you.
“[name], I need to talk to you.”
“Okay.”
Childe reeled a little from surprise, eyes widened. There was no longer an air of purposeful defiance that surrounded you. When he regained his composure, he stated, “I want to show you a place. I’ll tell you when we’re there.”
Now, you trail behind him, not uttering a word throughout the whole walk to the said location. He mostly keeps his eyes on the road ahead or up at the soft red-hued sky, only sending occasional glances back at you. He notices that your eyes are always wandering and he wonders if you ever looked his way.
You only speak to ask him where he’s headed when both of you reach a forested area with no path.
“The location’s a surprise I’ve always wanted to show you, but I never got to.”
When Childe sees a hint of doubt cross your eyes, it pricks at his heart. He stops in his tracks. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
When you only stare at him as a response, he feels himself become fragile glass on the edge of a table. A rubber band that’s about to snap. He remembers his weak grasp on you and he hates it. Childe doesn’t know if you are going to turn away and leave him.
You mumble an “okay”, taking a step towards him.
This prompts him to continue moving forward, and he releases a breath he yet again didn’t realise he was holding. Both of you continue to walk in silence until the vegetation becomes less dense and the ground becomes muddier.
With the slippery ground, your safety comes to his mind. Childe extends out his hand to you and his gaze locks with yours. Eyes darting towards his hand, your hand twitches. Slowly, your fingers touch his gloved hand. Then, your palm rests on his. With a gentle grasp, he curls his fingers around your hand. When you familiarise the feeling of his hands around yours, you nod at him and he leads slightly ahead of you.
The rest of the journey remains as silent as before. However, it is sprinkled with little words of caution from Childe to you. Tightening grips of his hand to help you cross a particularly slippery path, to a tender hold when he knows you’re safe.
Gradually, the trees clear out and in your immediate front is a marsh. Some starconches lay on the edge of the water, glimmering in the sunlight. Little mudskippers jump about the clear waters, creating a soothing melody when they touch its surface. Beyond the marsh, the sea opens up. The sun has set midway right at the horizon as if submerging itself into the sea. Its reddish-orange glow seeps into the sea, and your eyes catch specks of glitter on the sea surface.
A light breeze caresses your cheek. As if pulled by a rope, you walk towards the water's surface. Your hand slides out of Childe’s hand.
At the edge of the water, you crouch down to pick up a glimmering starconch. When you stand up to raise it to the sky, Childe thinks that now is the moment.
“[name], I’m leaving at daybreak-”
“It was like a dream. You and me.”
All the words Childe has prepared on the edge of his tongue for you vanish into thin air. The inside of his mouth turns dry and he feels a knife twist in his chest.
He utters, “I’m sorry, [name]. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Rage stirs in Childe’s chest. He has done so much that hurt you beyond what he could imagine, and all he could say was two sentences of an apology. Childe closes the distance between the two of you, and he stops directly behind you.
“I really like you, [name]. I really do. I don’t know when but I started looking forward to adventuring out with you whenever I had time.”
He pauses, hoping for a response. When you don’t turn to face him, he continues, “You probably already know but, I enjoyed fighting the monsters and treasure hoarders with you. We created so many good memories together.”
His fists clench up at his side.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect the happiness that came with it and... I’m sorry I couldn’t protect the dream I have given to you.”
Promises are to be kept, mistakes are to be apologised for and dreams are to be protected. That’s what family is to Childe. To you, hearing that means he considers you family, even if there has been nothing between the two of you.
He likes you. He cares about you. And these thoughts crush you like the weight of the world. They are gems on your hands that you deem so filthy. You feel undeserving and you are horribly lost on whether you can accept them because you cannot decisively choose between him or your homeland.
You turn back towards him in one second, ready to launch a barrage of insults at him. However, when you see the soft reddish glow of the sun on his face, you realise this is the first time today you’ve looked at him properly. All you see are his smiles that you selfishly hope are reserved only for you.
You mutter, “I hate you, you know? I wish I could watch you crash and suffer in the destruction that comes biting back at you.”
Childe feels like he’s fallen into the abyss again, powerless against the monsters that prowl in the shadows of every corner. He could run then, but he will not run this time.
“I know. I’m sorry for all that I’ve done to hurt you… and I’m sorry that I have to go like this.”
Pleasant partings are something Childe wants, especially with you. He wanted to say goodbye with the hope that he would see you again. Yet, he is leaving with you harbouring such horrid impressions and memories of him.
“I know you won’t forgive me so easily for attempting to destroy your homeland. I… couldn’t have done otherwise too. But if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, shoot it my way. Even when we’re away from each other, write me a letter. If you need me to knock someone off their porch, tell me. Tell me how much you hate me, how you want to watch me burn… and maybe how you could forgive me if you ever figured that out.”
You choke on a sob and a tear streaks down your cheek. Childe’s hand twitches with the urge to wipe your tears away from you, cup your cheek and tell you that everything’s going to be okay.
But he deems that he does not have the right to.
In between sobs, you rasped, “When I found out the man I admired so much had attempted to destroy my home, I felt the world collapse before me. I told myself you are a criminal. You cannot be forgiven in the eyes of any Liyuean. Sometimes I even wonder if all you’ve ever done for me was part of a performance. But no matter what, I still liked you, I couldn’t erase my feelings. It felt so wrong. I felt so guilty.”
You attempt to wipe your flowing tears away with the back of your hand, but they continue to run down your cheeks endlessly.
“Yes. I want you to burn, I want you to suffer. But the mere thought of it hurts me. You’ve put yourself in enough danger and you’ve hurt yourself enough.”
Letting go of his restraint, Childe pulls you into a hug. You let yourself tremble in his embrace, and you bury your head in his shoulder. He whispers as he cradles your head, “I know. I know. I’m sorry.”
Childe strokes your head and whispers more apologies. He does so until you quieten down. When you do, you take a deep breath. With much reluctance, you bring yourself to tell him, “I’m leaving Liyue tomorrow too.”
Trying to process what you’ve said, Childe tears himself away from you. He searches your face for any hint of humour, but he doesn’t find one. Suddenly, there is an even greater distance before the two of you, one that feels even more unimaginable than he thought.
He’s staring at you for a bit too long, deep in his thoughts. Your eyes dart away, and a tinge of pink dusts your cheeks.
“I really like you too, by the way.”
Childe’s heart skips a beat and his breath hitches. A critical hit to his already weak heart from the day. Maybe the distance won’t matter.
Without waiting for him to respond, you walk over to and sit on the dry surface of a large rock that rises above the water. You pat the spot next to you. When Childe sits down, you rest your head on his shoulder. He notices that you don’t lean your weight entirely on him and gently pats your head. At that gesture, you relax.
As a passing thought, you comment, “I wish we met under better circumstances.”
Childe doesn’t respond to that, and he lets the sea breeze that runs through his hair carry your words out to the ocean. They’ll go far away and soon, they will no longer matter.
In the comforting silence, questions surface in his mind. “Can I ask you two things?”
You hum.
“Why did you let me explain myself?”
“When we went to Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, I wanted to say goodbye to Zhongli and the Traveller happened to be there. As I was talking to them, Traveller told me to give you a chance, especially since you mattered to me so much. They said you are a ‘bad guy’ as you had said yourself, but you’re not really one either.”
Childe thanks the Traveller in his heart and promises to repay them for this debt. A wave of relief also washes over him, knowing that it was not your intention to shame him.
“So… where will you be going now?”
“Not sure honestly. Maybe Sumeru? I just felt like I needed to leave Liyue for a bit, see the world and use it to navigate to any leftover problems I have.”
He is very well aware he has caused a lot of your ‘leftover problems’, but Childe detects no malice in your tone. This gives him a surge of confidence, leading him to suggest, “Let’s still write letters and stay updated with each other.”
You tease him, “Still up for me to ask you to knock someone off their porch?”
He laughs (a pleasant sound to your ears) and nods. You ask, “Promise?”
Childe raises his pinky. You raise yours too and your pinkies hook with each other’s firmly. For the first time today, both of you smile without a hint of despair.
“Promise.”
Both of you stay at the scene, leaning against each other until the night stretches out from the edges of the sky. Childe stands up and he offers his hand to you. Immediately, you slide your hand into his and intertwine your fingers with his.
As he gazes into your eyes for what could be the last time in a while, Childe cups your cheek. He closes the distance between your faces very slowly, checking every moment to make sure you are comfortable. However, just as his lips hover above yours, he pulls away.
Childe hears you gasp and he panics. “Oh Archons- wait [name], I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bait you or anything like that.”
His eyes dart away as he scratches the nape of his neck. “Sorry, I thought maybe we should do this the next time we meet. It gives us a good reason to meet soon and we’ll cherish it even more, right?”
You scoff at him and pinch his cheeks, mildly annoyed you didn’t get the kiss. But distance makes the heart fonder, and you can’t refute that.
“You better not regret it, Mr Tartaglia.”
“Ajax.”
You raise your eyebrows, prompting him to explain more. Even with your confused face, he finds you adorable. His signature grin finds its way back on his lips.
“That’s my real name. I want you to have it and call me that.”
“Okay, Ajax.”
Childe catches the way you slow down to articulate his name. He finds that his name has become sacred after it falls off your lips.
And he realises he has been stricken with an illness all this while.
It is a fever that burns him from his heart. It is one that he can feel spreading on his skin. Sometimes, it becomes unbearable as if no water is ever going to cool him.
An illness called love.
It will continue to plague him. Especially because he knows he will most likely regret not going for that kiss.
However, it is the end of a scalding illness with no recovery in sight. He would take this fever on any day, for you will be the eventual remedy that he will have at the end. He can already imagine his lips on yours and his remedy will be so, so saccharine.
Childe tries not to get ahead of himself as he gives this scenery one last glance. For now, he will battle the monsters that come with the end of your time together. He will dive into the night and keep fighting, until he sees a glimpse of a new beginning with you.
--
Please like and reblog if you enjoyed this! All likes, reblogs and comments are appreciated <3
pairings : childe x reader
summary : after getting your heart broken by childe you decides to move away so you wouldn't see him again, and so you wrote him your first and last letter.
note : there'll be a bit of childe and reader's past relationship written so i highly recommend you to read/re-read the first part! ^v^
also this hasn't been proofread!
read part 1 here!
ajax, how're you doing these past week? finally getting that girlfriend you've been searching for? lumine right? yeah i met her earlier today, and i could say that she's not what i thought she is you know?
i tried to hate her, and i did, i hated her for taking you away from me. you someone who i found comfort in and you who i foolishly fell in love with.
i hated every moment i spent seeing you with her, i hate how pathetic i feel watching you with her.
"why would you like her? someone who just entered your live, someone who you barely know?" that was what i thought back then
but i met her today, i see how beautiful she is inside, and i hate it. how come she's so nice? how come she's so perfect? she's such an angel compared to me.
i understand why you love her ajax, i would too if i were you. i mean how could you not? i've treated her like a disease yet she's still so friendly, so nice, so caring towards me...
a part of me still hates her, a part of me still can't seem to let you go. you were my everything ajax.. you saved me that day when i was in the brink of death, you taught me what love is - what love could be.
and i thought we had something you know? the way you act, the way you talk, and the way you treat me as if i'll break if you did something wrong. You were my savior, you whom i fell in love with.
but i guess you need someone who could comfort you in your dark times too right? i suppose i was never the person to express my feelings.. never was the person who could comfort people..
but what i didn't expect is the fact that you turn cold so fast. how could you ajax? how could you leave me like that? maybe you finally had enough of my antiques? haha..
since you've already know about my feelings towards you before i had the courage to tell you myself i suppose i'll confess everything in this letter hehe :
ajax, the guy who saved my life when i was in the brink of freezing, the guy who warmed my cold heart and showed me what love is, everything we did i store inside of me dearly.
i still remember that day you knelt down and gave me that qixing flower, that night you saved me, you bought me warm soup and clothes to warm me up, so many things..
perhaps i didn't thanked you enough.. thank you for everything ajax, thank you for saving my life, thank you for helping me survive, for teaching me how to love, for letting me love you.
yet i'm afraid i couldn't stand seeing you with lumine again, i'm afraid if i stayed here longer the ice you melt will freeze again, freezing me from the inside.
you're happy with her, she's perfect for you, and i've come to realize that i'll have to let you go... i can't share ajax, you know that right?
it's either you for me or not at all, and you love her so i wouldn't force you to love me
goodbye childe, may we meet again in brighter future..
please take care of yourself and her for me yeah?
i love you <3
signed, your companion [name].
a/n : reblogs are greatly appreciated! and please feel free to comment what you think about this fic ^^
pairing : childe x reader
genre : fluff to angst
summary : he was your everything, and so you thought you were his too.
a/n : this is basically just a vent fic
read pt.2 : reader’s letter for childe
"promise i'll take you to the lantern rite" he smiled. you blush a bit at his statement as you hit his side jokingly "yea right, you better keep that promise ajax" he chuckles "you can always count on me princess"
"fuck off you're cringe" you complained and push him from your side. "what can i say? i'm a charmer" he walks back to your side with a dashing grin "yea right" you replied.
it was a breezy afternoon in bishui plain, a perfect day to take a peaceful walk to clear your mind. but as you were walking peacefully you see a silhouette of a man gliding from behind
"fancy seeing you here" you turn around to face childe. as he walks towards you silently, when he's almost by your side, you turn your body to continue your walk again but stop when you see the sight from the side of your eyes.
childe is kneeling down on one knee, hands stretched, holding a couple of beautiful qixing flower. seeing that, you blush, hard. and you could see that childe is also blushing as he lets out a laugh
you opened your mouth to say something but nothing came out, too shocked to speak. childe then stands up and regain his composure, he hands you the flowers and starts to walk towards the plains, you catching up to him.
"found them on the top of some hill, thought i could pick some up for you" he shrugs, you stare at the flowers in awe, tints of red could still be seen in your cheeks. "uh, thanks i guess?" "you are very welcome" he gave you his signature wink and grin.
the both of you then enjoy the rest of the walk in silence and sat down together near the city to watch the sunset.
"have you heard? childe's dating the traveler" xiangling, who's sitting with you said out of the blue
that caught you off guard and you look up to her, eyes widened "what?"
"yeah, i heard her talking to paimon about it a while ago" you were baffled. i mean, just yesterday he knelt down in front of you, handing you flowers, just yesterday you spent your afternoon with him watching the sunset. and now he's dating the traveler?
no amount of word could express how you feel right now. sad? shocked? ashamed? betrayed? angry? you don't even know, they're circling inside you, wanting to explode.
xiangling who was oblivious of the fact that you have deep feelings for the eleventh fatui harbinger just continue to talk, yet you pay no mind to any of her words. you stood up and politely excuse yourself to her.
as you walk towards your home you can't help but let your tears fall, the scenery is beautiful, the moon high up in the sky, shinning brightly with clouds covering a part of it, the birds flying in the sky and the sound of fishes in the pond. it's the perfect night, just not for you.
you walk and walk by yourself as you drown yourself with thoughts and tears.
the next morning, you woke up from your restless night and you decide to take a breath in the hills, but guess it's just your lucky day for as soon as you teleported to the top of wuwang hill you see childe there, he turn around to see you and looked just as shocked.
not ready to talk to him yet, you averts your gaze to the grass and walk towards the empty spot near him, you don't want it to seem obvious you know about him and traveler but at the same time you still needed space to clear your mind, so you just stay quiet.
"hey, you good? you looked like you haven't sleep in ages" childe tries to spark up a conversation "yeah, didn't sleep at all." you replied shortly.
childe tries a couple of new topics but you shut down all of them, sensing that you want some time by yourself, he left you alone. "you seem like you need space, i'll excuse myself then" he pats your shoulder and left.
you sat on the grass and tears starts falling again, call it dramatic but the feeling of heartbreak just never hit you this hard. he's your first love and first heart break. you've always prepare yourself for any heartbreak that'll come to you, yet this just seem to have hit you a lot harder than what you'd expect.
days passed and you could see that childe is also drifting away from you. what seemed like a couple of greetings turns into stares, and hatred towards each other.
just when you're ready to be friend him again, childe makes it obvious that he didn't want anything to do with you anymore.
"ajax, didn't expect to see you here" childe turns to you "yeah? didn't expect to see you here too" he reply shortly and not long after that he left to meet the traveler.
you see how childe went towards traveler and starts laughing together, walking further away from you. you let out a chuckle "so we’re not going to the lantern rite you promised me huh?” you say to no one in particular
apparently this is how it ends, and you thought he’d be more then just a chapter. what a blessing it is to meet ajax, and such a curse loving him.
